The corridor stretched endlessly, swallowed by pitch darkness. The walls were damp, breathing out a faint smell of decay. Each step the group took echoed like whispers in the silence.
Dev walked in front, the weak beam of his torch slicing through the shadows. Behind him, Sameer clung close, his eyes darting into every corner as if the dark itself could pounce. Rishi, a little further back, had his camera raised, recording every flicker, every sound, every breath.
"B… bro," Sameer whispered, his voice trembling, "it's… it's quite scary."
Dev didn't turn back. His voice was steady, almost cold."What else do you expect in a haunted place?"
Rishi chuckled under his breath, breaking the tension."Maybe Sameer wants some guest-like treatment from the ghosts," he teased, shifting his camera to catch Sameer's pale face.
The sound of Rishi's laughter echoed unnaturally in the empty corridor—too loud, too stretched, as if the walls themselves were laughing with him.
Sameer flinched."Don't… don't joke like that, man."
They kept walking, the torchlight barely holding back the suffocating dark. After some time, the corridor ended, splitting into two different paths. The group came to a halt.
Sameer's voice broke the silence."Bro… which way should we go?"
Dev smirked, his eyes scanning both sides."I'm always right. Hence… let's go to the right path."
Sameer tilted his head, uncertainty in his tone."Are you sure, bro? Is this the correct path?"
Dev's smirk widened."Bro… it's not the correct path…" He let the words hang, stepping forward, "…it's the right path."
Sameer blinked, confused. "What?"
They began walking into the right passage when, suddenly, Dev stopped. Without a word, he turned and started walking towards the left path instead.
"Wha—bro!" Sameer almost yelped. "You just said we should go right! What's this now?"
Dev glanced over his shoulder, his expression sharp under the dim glow."Have you forgotten what Arjun said? We're here to check for that drawing in the school. That means every part of school."
Sameer frowned, his voice nervous but stubborn."Still, bro… why change to the left path now? We could've come back to it later."
Dev sighed, shaking his head like a teacher disappointed in his student."Bro, you're really a dumbo sometimes. Have you forgotten? This corridor left one leads only to the examination room. The other right one branches into different parts of the building. Which do you think makes more sense—check the small things first, which are quick… or dive into the big stuff that'll take longer?"
Sameer's eyes widened as the realization hit."Ohhh… I see."
"Finally," Dev muttered.
Rishi lowered his camera for a moment, nodding."Dev's right. Better to clear out the exam hall first. Then we'll have fewer doubts later."
And with that, they all turned to the left passage, heading slowly toward the examination room. The air grew colder with each step, the silence pressing down harder, as though the school itself was holding its breath.
After a long, tense walk, the faint outline of a door came into view. As they drew closer, the beam of Dev's torch revealed the rotting wood—cracked and half-hanging on its hinges. The signboard above, once proudly painted Examination Room, now dangled by a single nail, its letters faded, broken. Dried blood stains streaked across the doorframe, as though something had been dragged through. Scratches and handprints marred the walls around it, silent testimonies of panic long past.
Sameer's throat went dry. He stepped back instinctively, clutching his arms."Bro… this is… this is really creepy," he whispered, his voice trembling.
Rishi tilted his camera up, zooming in on the blood marks, the broken board. His breathing grew heavier, but he kept recording.
Dev didn't answer. His torchlight lingered on the cracked door, but his mind had drifted elsewhere. What the hell really happened on the last day? The question gnawed at him, louder than Sameer's voice, louder than the creaks of the decayed building.
For a moment, he wasn't looking at the door—he was replaying fragments of Arjun's words, the legends, the whispers of vanished students. Something wasn't adding up.
Sameer nudged his arm nervously."Bro? …Dev? Did you hear me?"
Dev snapped out of his thoughts, tightening his grip on the torch. His jaw clenched, and without a word, he reached for the broken handle.
The examination room awaited.
Dev's hand moved slowly toward the rusted door handle. The metal was cold, slick with grime—but as soon as his fingers brushed it, a sudden jolt shot through his mind.
Quick flashes erupted behind his eyelids:
A strange person, injured badly, carrying a crumpled piece of paper as if their life depended on it.A dark, shapeless figure slinking just behind them, moving with unnatural speed.Hands reaching out from the shadows, trying to grab the fleeing figure.A corridor filled with chaos, screams barely audible, yet burning into memory.
The visions were fragmented, blurry—so fast that Dev could barely grasp them. Yet they carried a chilling weight, a whisper of the horrors that had unfolded here… the last day he and his friends had never seen.
He shook his head sharply. "No… must be something else," he muttered under his breath, trying to dismiss the sudden rush of images.
Sameer, standing close behind him, eyed him with concern."Bro… you okay?"
Dev gave a tight-lipped nod, forcing calm into his voice."Yeah… just… weird draft or something."
But deep down, the flashes lingered, gnawing at him. Something had happened here, something no one had seen.
He gripped the handle tighter, ignoring the unease clawing at his mind, and pushed the door open.
Dev pushed the door open slowly. A long, drawn-out creak echoed through the corridor as the rotten hinges protested. Immediately, a strange, suffocating smell wafted out—stale, metallic, and heavy, like the room hadn't been opened in decades. Dust hung thickly in the air, disturbed only by the weak beam of Dev's torch.
One by one, they stepped inside, their footsteps muted on the cracked floor. The air was thick and still, pressing against their lungs with an almost tangible weight.
Sameer coughed, waving a hand in front of his face."Bro… ugh… this smell is… I don't even…"
Rishi kept his camera raised, capturing every corner of the room. The faint red glow of the blood-stained doorframe seemed to follow them inside.
Dev stayed at the entrance for a moment, his torch sweeping across the room. Despite the smell, despite the dust and decay, his mind was sharp, alert. Every shadow, every object, every corner held a potential clue about what had happened here long ago.
"Stay close," he said quietly, almost to himself, and then stepped fully into the room.
The examination room was silent… but silence in this place never felt safe.
Dev slowly raised his torch, the beam cutting through the thick layer of dust hanging in the air. The light swept across the room, revealing its ruined state piece by piece.
Broken benches lay scattered, some overturned, their wooden frames splintered as if struck with unnatural force. Torn answer sheets and blood-stained papers littered the floor, their edges curled and blackened by time. Each gust of stale air sent a few sheets drifting weakly across the cracked tiles, like ghosts refusing to settle.
On the far wall, deep scratches dug into the plaster—long, jagged marks, as though something with claws had raked its way across in a frenzy.
Sameer's eyes darted from one corner to another, his breathing uneven."Bro… this place is… way creepier than I imagined."
Rishi zoomed his camera in on the scratches, then on a crumpled blood-stained answer sheet lying near a broken desk. His voice was quieter than usual."Whatever happened here… wasn't normal."
Dev stood silently in the center of the room, his torch steady, his eyes sharp. He wasn't just looking—he was searching.
Dev turned to the others, his voice firm but quiet."Let's search. Maybe we can find something here."
The three split up across the examination hall.
Dev moved toward the old cupboards lined against the wall, their doors barely hanging on. He tugged one open with effort, its rusted hinges groaning, dust spilling out as forgotten files collapsed onto the floor. He sifted through them carefully, his torch beam steady, scanning for anything unusual.
Rishi, camera still recording, moved along the opposite side of the room. Every so often he lowered the lens to check drawers, broken shelves, and piles of crumpled paper. The red light of his recording dot flickered eerily in the dimness.
Sameer crouched near the shattered benches and old wooden tables, pulling open drawers that screeched in protest. Inside, he found nothing but scraps of torn exam sheets, ink smudges, and rusted pens. Still, he kept going, nervously glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.
The room echoed with their movements—the creak of wood, the scrape of metal, the shuffle of papers—as though the hall itself had awakened after years of silence.
Suddenly, Dev stopped rummaging and smirked. His torchlight glinted in his eyes."Bro… look what I've found."
Sameer and Rishi, curious, hurried over."What is it?" Sameer asked.
Dev lowered his hand, revealing a dusty, half-torn register. His grin widened."It's… the report card of our batch."
Sameer bent closer, squinting at the faded ink. His eyes widened when he spotted a particular detail."Bro… you failed one of the periodic tests!"
Dev chuckled, unbothered."Periodic tests are useless. They just give teachers another reason to scold us."
Sameer laughed, shaking his head."True… but still, these marks may not matter in life—but they can be used to make someone laugh."
Dev's grin turned mischievous. He snatched the register from Sameer's hands, pulled out a pen from his pocket, and with exaggerated seriousness began scribbling."Oh, I see. Then I'll change it. These damn teachers always gave me bad grades… but now—" he laughed wickedly, "—now I'll give myself A+++ and become the topper of the class!"
His evil laughter echoed through the examination hall, bouncing off the broken walls."I will rewrite history!"
Rishi couldn't stop chuckling as he zoomed in with his camera, capturing the moment.
But far outside the room, in the darkened corridor, two ghostly children lingered, pale figures whispering to each other.
"Bro… you go scare him," one muttered nervously."No way! Did you hear that laugh? He's scarier than us!" the other replied.
Both shivered, glancing back at the door, and then vanished into the shadows, agreeing silently—that boy was not to be messed with.
Dev was still laughing, his voice echoing unnaturally in the ruined hall. Rishi kept his camera trained on him, chuckling as he captured every moment.
Sameer, on the other hand, just sighed. "Hopeless," he muttered, shaking his head. Leaving Dev to his madness, he crouched near another broken desk, tugging at the drawers one by one.
For a while, there was nothing but scraps of paper, old pens, and dust. But then—his hand froze. Inside one drawer lay a thick book, its cover smeared and stiff with dried blood. The pages inside seemed stuck together, dark stains blotting their edges.
Sameer's heart skipped. He carefully pulled it out, holding it away from himself, and called out:"Dev! Rishi! Look what I've found!"
Dev turned, still smirking."Oh? Another report card? Just give it to me, I'll upgrade myself again."
But Sameer's expression was grim. His voice trembled slightly."No… it's not a report card. It's… something else."
The laughter drained instantly from both Dev and Rishi. The mood shifted. They exchanged quick glances, then hurried over to Sameer, their curiosity—and unease—sharpened.
The camera's red light flickered as Rishi zoomed in on the blood-soaked book.
Dev's eyes narrowed, curiosity flickering in them."Sameer… open it. Maybe we can find something."
Sameer hesitated, then carefully lifted the blood-soaked cover. He flipped through the stiff pages slowly, but every sheet was marred with dried blood, the words blurred beyond recognition.
He sighed."It's nothing, bro. I can't see what's inside—just stains everywhere."
Dev and Rishi exchanged a glance, then nodded silently. Sameer closed the book with a dull thud.
But as he set it down, a folded piece of paper slipped free and drifted to the floor.
Dev's sharp eyes caught it immediately."What's this?" he muttered, bending down to pick it up.
Just as Dev bent forward to pick up the fallen piece of paper, something stirred far away—on the other side of the school.
Arjun stood in the shadows of a broken corridor, his face barely visible. A slow, twisted smile crept across his lips as his eyes glowed faintly red.
In a cold, chilling voice, he whispered into the silence:"Looks like… they've found The First Piece."
His grin widened unnaturally, and without another word, he stepped back into the darkness, swallowed completely by it.
Back in the examination hall, Dev turned the paper over in his hand, oblivious to the watchful presence that lingered elsewhere in the school.
The paper was brittle, one side blotched with dark bloodstains. Carefully, Dev turned it over. His breath caught in his throat. The torchlight revealed a strange pattern—lines and symbols arranged in a way that felt disturbingly familiar.
"This…" he whispered.
Rishi leaned in, camera zooming close."Bro… isn't this… what Arjun described? The drawing?"
Dev's jaw tightened."Yeah. Same pattern, same style."
Sameer frowned, pointing at the torn edge."But it's not complete. This looks like… only one-fourth of the whole thing."
Rishi lowered his camera slightly, nodding."Which means the rest of the pieces… are still somewhere in this school."
Dev's smirk returned, though this time it was serious, not playful."Then let's check again. Hopefully… we'll find the others."
The three of them glanced around the ruined examination hall, the shadows stretching wider around them, as though the school itself had just realized what they had uncovered.
For the next few minutes, the three scattered again, rummaging through broken benches, overturned cupboards, and piles of dusty papers. The sound of drawers creaking and wood splintering echoed through the examination hall.
But in the end… nothing. No more pieces surfaced.
Dev finally straightened up, slipping the small torn fragment safely into his pocket. His torch beam swept once more across the ruined room before he spoke."Maybe the pieces aren't all here. They could be scattered across the whole school."
Sameer sighed, brushing the dust from his hands."So… we'll have to check every corner?"
Dev nodded, his smirk faint but thoughtful."Yeah. Hopefully the others will find some too."
Rishi kept his camera steady, recording Dev's words. The weight of the discovery hung heavy in the stale air. The ruined examination room felt even colder now—as if it had given them only a taste, and was daring them to search deeper.